Chapter 7: [SYSTEM NOTICE]

’Am I dead?’

Darkness.

Thick, suffocating, endless darkness.

There was no floor. No sky. No air.

Only the sensation of being submerged in something cold and heavy, like he was floating deep under the ocean—except there was no pressure, no movement. Just stillness. Just silence.

Like drowning in ink.

Somewhere in the distance, voices began to echo—distorted and far away, like he was hearing them from the bottom of a well.

“—he’s coding! We’re losing him—”

“Get the crash cart—clear!”

BEEP.

A high-pitched whine pierced through the void, sharp and grating.

’What… is that?’

Lucien twitched. Or maybe he imagined he did. He didn’t know if his body was responding—didn’t know if he even had a body anymore.

He couldn’t see. Couldn’t feel. Couldn’t move.

But he could hear.

The beeping, quick and frantic. The shouting, overlapping. Urgent hands slamming down—hard, again and again.

His chest?

’Why can’t I move?’

Panic bloomed in him, wild and cold and growing.

’Someone help me… please…’

He was still. Paralyzed.

And worst of all—he couldn’t breathe.

’I want to move… I want to see my family… I want to—’

He reached out, not knowing if it was with his mind or his limbs. He fought, flailing in that invisible ocean. Desperate to rise. To wake up. To live.

But there was no surface.

Only cold. Only silence. Only darkness.

’I hate this. I hate this!’

He felt like screaming—but no voice came out.

Until—

“I love you,” a man’s voice whispered.

Quiet.

His tone filled with pain.

“I’m sorry.”

’Who—?’

Then—A gasp.

Lucien gasped. Ragged and sharp like air was fire in his lungs.

His back arched. His body convulsed.

He was alive.

His eyes flew open.

Blinding white light flooded in, stabbing straight through his skull. He squinted, blinking against it, breath coming in harsh, broken gulps.

’Fuck.’

Shapes swam in front of him—shadows with voices.

Figures in white. Machines beeping around him. People crying.

“Eli!” a woman sobbed, voice full of aching relief. “Eli, I thought we lost you—”

He turned his head slowly, confused, disoriented. A woman leaned over him, clinging to his hand like a lifeline. Her cheeks were wet, and her voice trembled.

Beside her, a man stood stiffly, blinking back tears.

Who were they?

He tried to speak—but couldn’t.

There was something in his mouth. A tube.

His throat convulsed around it. He gagged. Eyes watering.

“It’s alright, son,” the man said, brushing a trembling hand over his hair. “You’re okay now. You’re safe.”

’Who… are you?’

But no sound escaped. Only the rasp of a broken breath.

“We need space—please,” one of the doctors said gently, and the couple was ushered away.

Lucien tried to sit up, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. His limbs were jelly. His chest ached with every breath, and his head pounded like a war drum.

“I can’t believe it…” a nurse murmured behind the blinding light. “He flatlined for a full minute. He’s been in a coma for days.”

“After that monster attack after the explosion?” another said. “Only a few survived. I guess, he’s one of them.”

Lucien’s thoughts twisted.

Explosion?

Monsters?

’What are they talking about—’

And then it hit him like a brick to the chest.

’Wait. I was… I was in a dungeon. The gate… it exploded. Right in my face.’

He remembered the pain. The blood. The fear.

And—

Something else.

Just before he blacked out.

Just before the darkness swallowed him whole…

’Didn’t something… appear?’ Or did he imagine it?

His heart thudded as he scanned the room, frantic, mind spinning.

And then—

Ding.

A soft, familiar, mechanical chime.

A glowing blue screen shimmered to life above his hospital bed—floating in the air, its presence almost casual. As if it belonged there. As if it had always belonged.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

> Hello, Elione.

His breath hitched.

He stared at the words.

’Elione…?’

Even the couple had called him Eli.

But this screen… this system—he remembered it. Vaguely. Distant, like a half-dream.

’This was the thing that asked me… if I wanted to live.’

Was this the reason he was still breathing? Was this why his bones hadn’t shattered, why his heart was still beating?

What even was it?

So many questions spun in his head, loud and heavy and urgent.

But the tube in his mouth kept him silent. Trapped.

Nurses gathered around him again, clucking over his vitals, adjusting wires, speaking in awe.

“After that attack, we thought he was a goner.”

“There was no way anyone should’ve survived that. But then again isn’t he a B-Class?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it…”

Their voices blended into background noise.

Lucien slowly turned his head—just slightly—to the table beside him.

A small glass jar sat there, filled with wilted white daisies.

And in the reflective curve of the glass—

He froze.

’What the hell…’

Black hair.

Golden-yellow eyes.

That wasn’t his face.

That wasn’t him.

’Hold on…’

Elione—or Eli—stared at the nurse in disbelief, his eyes wide, heart racing.

’Did they just say I was a B-Class? That…’

It wasn’t making sense.

None of it did.

The sterile room. The unfamiliar faces. The way the nurses moved around him like he was someone important. The way they called him—Elione.

’B-Class? That’s… impossible. I was E-Class. I barely got into the Association…’

He clutched the bedsheet with trembling fingers, chest rising and falling too fast.

Was this a dream?

No. The pain in his chest was too real. The cold sweat. The tightness in his throat.

The afterlife?

’No. No, why would there be nurses in the afterlife? Why would I feel like I’m about to throw up?’

Then…

Was it possible?

’Did I die…?’

Ding.

Another soft mechanical chime. It cut through the chaos in his head, sharp and certain.

Eli looked up—and there it was again.

That glowing screen, hovering silently in the air, right in front of him. Bright and unreal, untouched by light or shadow.

No one else noticed. Not a single nurse or doctor even glanced its way.

[SYSTEM NOTICE]

Previous host body: Lucien Kim — Status: Deceased.

3

Cause of death: Dungeon Gate Implosion.

> Emergency transfer initiated.

Eli’s breath caught.

’Emergency transfer initiated? My… my body really is deceased?’

His chest constricted. The room spun.

’No. That can’t be. I—I said I wanted to live! But not like this! Not in someone else’s body!’

The monitor beside him beeped faster. Louder. Urgent.

Beep.Beep.Beep.

“His heart rate’s rising—Sir Elione? Sir Elione, please try to breathe—”

Eli wasn’t listening. His eyes were glued to the screen, heart thundering in his chest.

[SYSTEM PROMPT]

Would you like to view your new body’s stats?

❏ YES

2

❏ NO

(Warning: Some surprises may cause emotional distress. Proceed with caution.)

He didn’t move.

Couldn’t.

His mind was spinning.

’NO! I don’t want a new body! I want to go back to my old body!’

Tears blurred his vision. He yanked at the IV in his arm, trying to move—trying to run from the truth staring him in the face.

But his limbs weren’t listening.

“Sir Elione, calm down, please—”

“Lisa! Sedate him! Now!”

’I didn’t ask for this—I didn’t ask for any of this!’

His lungs felt like they were collapsing. Tears slipped down the sides of his face, hot and helpless.

’Bring me back! BRING ME BACK TO MY OLD BODY!’

Ding.

The sound echoed again—right in the center of his skull.

[SYSTEM PROMPT]

Wish detected: Return to original host body (Lucien Kim).

Processing request…

Verifying eligibility…

Matching conditions…

The air seemed to hold its breath with him.

And then—

[SYSTEM PROMPT]

> Restoration of original body is possible.

> However, due to host status (deceased), revival requires completion of a unique challenge.

⚠︎ Requirements are demanding.

Would you like to proceed?

❏ YES

❏ NO

(Note: Refusal will result in permanent synchronization with Elione Noa Ahn’s body.)

’Is that true?’

His breath hitched.

’I can go back…? There’s still a way—!’

But just as he reached toward the screen—vision blurry, muscles trembling—his head lolled to the side.

The sedative had kicked in.

Too fast.

He could feel it in his veins—warm, sinking, pulling him under.

’No… wait… I still…’

The screen flickered once more before his eyes rolled back.

And then—

Darkness.

Again.

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